Épisodes

  • The Beauty of Imperfection: Reframing My Character Defects
    Oct 17 2025

    Hearing in early sobriety that I had “character defects” offended me. Who are you to say I’m broken? I just like to get drunk.


    I’ve come to see these defects as imperfections or symptoms of being human. They’re not diagnoses that can’t be changed. My character defects distorted my instincts for survival, security, and belonging and were further swollen by alcohol. My drinking replaced natural instincts with artificial ones that I believed were keeping me safe. Now I work to reclaim those natural instincts through spiritual growth, honesty, surrender, and daily practice. When I see my ego, anxiety, self-pity, or insecurity on the rise, it signals me to understand where I’m still healing and learn how to live better.


    Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.


    Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

    Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

    To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org


    #SobrietyJourney #CharacterDefects #RecoveryGrowth #SpiritualHealing #AlcoholRecovery #HealingThroughFaith #EmotionalSobriety #HumanImperfection #ReclaimYourInstincts #RecoveryDaily

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    28 min
  • The Paradox of Service: Outward Work, Inward Change
    Oct 17 2025

    I experience inner healing and transformation through giving back. Hosting a vestibular disorders support group on Tuesday reminded me why service is such a vital part of my recovery. Before the meeting, I was hoping no one would show up. This is a classic alcoholic instinct to avoid the work and discomfort. But they did show up, and what unfolded was powerful for me. One woman attendee spent three years desperately researching what was wrong with her after a brain injury. She said to us Tuesday night that she finally felt heard, seen, and understood. Watching her relief and recognition strengthened my resolve to make help accessible to the sick and suffering. Giving back gives me purpose, and it also helps me emotionally heal from all I’ve lost. The outward act of service through hosting support meetings, sharing, and listening transforms me on the inside.


    Whether through sobriety, stroke recovery, or vestibular disorder advocacy, my purpose is to carry the message and pass on what was freely given to me. Each time I do, I tap into more serenity, clarity, and energy to in my own recovery. The miracle of giving back is that in helping others find balance, I strengthen my own.


    Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.


    Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

    Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

    To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org


    #RecoveryThroughService #HealingByHelping #SobrietyAndService #VestibularRecoveryJourney #StrokeSurvivorSupport #GiveBackToHeal #InnerTransformation #CarryTheMessage #EmotionalHealingThroughPurpose #ServiceBringsSerenity

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    28 min
  • Rebuilding Routines: Self-Awareness Through H.A.L.T.
    Oct 16 2025

    It’s challenging to reestablish routines after a stroke, and I find it to be so once again after moving into a new house. Every habit that came naturally now takes extra thought and energy, from feeding the dogs to remembering where things are in the house. It’s a humbling reminder that lifelong recovery requires patience and self-compassion. The mental fatigue that comes from having to think through every tiny step can easily spiral into anxiety or self-criticism, so I’m back to napping every afternoon. Napping is part of my emotional self-care and an act of acceptance. When I slow down, I can see the noise in my mind and choose to quiet it down.


    Lately, I’ve been working through Step 4 again, making a searching and fearless moral inventory of myself. Most of my complicated emotions come down to simple human needs of being hungry, angry, lonely, or tired (H.A.L.T.). In the moment, it can feel discrediting to the heaviness of my feelings to simplify the solution like that. But, once again, when I pause, I can get honest with myself and take real action on the inside instead of lashing out or taking ineffective action toward others on the outside.


    Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.


    Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

    Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

    To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org


    #StrokeRecovery #AlcoholRecovery #Step4 #HALT #SelfCompassion #RecoveryCommunity #MentalHealthAwareness #TraumaticBrainInjury #stroke #12StepRecovery

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    28 min
  • The Long Way Home: Walking Through Fear and Anxiety
    Oct 14 2025

    Today has been one of those days where anxiety feels like it’s humming in every cell of my body. My heart’s been fluttering off rhythm since this morning, the way it does in a panic attack but for no clear reason. I keep taking deep breaths and telling myself it will pass, but the feeling lingered all day.


    For so many years, I lived in this constant state of anxiety. Back then, my only instinct was to run from the discomfort and silence it with a box of Vella Chardonnay. But I can’t outrun fear. I can only walk through it. The difference now is that I know I don’t have to face it alone. I have the tools and willingness to talk about it no matter how uneasy it feels. In my morning meeting, we read The Man Who Mastered Fear, and it felt like divine timing. I have learned to move through fear differently.


    At my old house, I used to take the shortcut home on walks, cutting my route in half whenever I felt too vestibularly symptomatic. But in my new neighborhood, there is no shortcut. Once I start, I have to go the whole way around the block to get home. And that’s exactly how fear and anxiety work for me now. I have to take the long way through them, not rushing the process or numbing it away. I hand it over and surrender, over and over again, even when it’s minute by minute. The fear doesn’t vanish, but I keep walking anyway. I trust that each step forward is healing me in ways I can’t yet see.


    Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.


    Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

    Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

    To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org


    #RecoveryJourney #OvercomingFear #AnxietyRecovery #SobrietyAndFaith #EmotionalHealing #OneDayAtATime #CourageToChange #MentalHealthAwareness #SurrenderAndTrust #TheLongWayHome

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    26 min
  • This Too Shall Pass: The Work Is In Staying Present
    Oct 11 2025

    Have you ever heard someone say “this too shall pass” in hard times? When life feels unpredictable and uncomfortable it can reassure us that the pain is temporary. But I noticed today that when life feels beautiful and serene, a different fear shows up for me. How often I do fear that the good won’t last. It’s my instinct to protect myself from disappointment. What I’m realizing, though, is that if fear lives in both extremes, when am I actually just “being” and content. I am fully aware of my need to control and predict what comes next. But, when I let that fear run the show, it robs me of the joy and serenity that’s available to me right now.


    So, “this too shall pass” means something broader that I gave it credit for in the past. Everything is impermanent. The work is in staying present, savoring the good without clinging to it, and moving through the hard without resisting it. When I talk about my fears out loud, they lose power over me. When I take action, I burn away fear’s energy and let it propel me toward growth.


    Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.


    Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

    Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

    To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org


    #RecoveryDaily #SobrietyJourney #MindfulLiving #EmotionalSobriety #LetGoAndGrow #FaithOverFear #SerenityInSobriety #HealingThroughPresence #ThisTooShallPass #GratefulRecovery

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    29 min
  • Decision Maker Vs. Wanter: Not A Victim Of My Thinker
    Oct 10 2025

    Moving into my new home has reminded me how much my sobriety has transformed the way I live. The same obsessive thinking that once fueled my drinking now shows up in unpacking boxes and decorating, but instead of feeling out of control, I can smile at it. This week I’m working on the pause, recognizing when I’m caught in the momentum of my thoughts and gently rein myself in. This week, walking to the beach, exploring my new neighborhood, and settling into a routine has given me immense gratitude for how far I’ve come. I’m living sober, grounded in new thinking and new doing habits.


    Sobriety has given me the ability to filter out impulses from action. What were once automatic reactions (whether to drink, eat, or escape) are now choices I get to make with awareness, MOSTLY good judgement, and common sense. I don’t have to obey every thought that passes through my mind. I can stop, take a deep breath, and decide what serves my growth. That’s the freedom I didn’t know existed before recovery. Today, I’m not a victim of my thoughts or feelings. My “decision maker” is driving the bus. And when my “wanter” tries to distract me, I have the tools to steer myself safely back toward my higher purpose.


    Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.


    Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

    Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

    To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org


    #RecoveryDaily #SobrietyJourney #SoberLiving #GratefulRecoveringAlcoholic #MentalHealthRecovery #StrokeRecovery #FaithAndRecovery #EmotionalSobriety #MindfulLiving #FreedomInSobriety

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    26 min
  • Rule 62: Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
    Oct 7 2025

    Have you heard of Rule 62? Don’t take yourself too seriously. I’d heard it before but never knew it’s origin. The gist is to be able to laugh at yourself. I overthink everything. EVERYTHING. I just moved to a new town and am prepared to meet new people and build a new life at our new lake house. I had been thinking, “what do I have to offer new friends as a sober disabled person?” But the truth is I can quietly be an example to others of how sober vacay living is not only possible, but joyful. Rule 62 reminds me that sobriety adds freedom to my character and makes me more enjoyable to be around.


    The past two weeks I’ve had a lot of time alone to reflect on relapse, gratitude, and what I’m carrying with me into this next season. Staying sober through uncomfortable situations is my superpower. My recovery program gives me tools and faith to handle things that used to baffle me. It’s a miracle that a life once dominated by alcohol can be turned into one of service, willingness, and hope. As I move into my new home, I’m reminding myself to lean further into my program, pray before I walk into new situations, and bring my world with me rather than trying to fit into someone else’s. I may never know who I’m helping just by living sober, but Rule 62 helps me to stay open, humble, tolerant, and not take myself too seriously.


    Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.


    Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

    Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

    To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org


    #RecoveryDaily #Rule62 #SobrietyJourney #AlcoholismRecovery #StrokeRecovery #GratefulRecoveringAlcoholic #SoberLiving #FaithAndRecovery #JoyInSobriety #HumorAndHealing

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    34 min
  • Pruning Character Defects: I Can’t Heal What I Won’t See
    Oct 4 2025

    In my old garden, there was a bush that was so wildly overgrown that nothing else could fit. When I cut it back, it looked bare and wounded, but over time, it filled out beautifully while I was also able to add dozens of new plants. That’s what recovery feels like. I’ve been removing the unhealthy stuff that doesn’t serve me to make room for new growth. But pruning I’ve found is easier if I do it often. If I ignore it, things become unmanageable again, and I’m blind to the overgrowth. My character defects work the same way. If I don’t make time for self-reflection, I start missing what’s right in front of me (and inside of me).


    Self-awareness requires slowing down long enough to see what I’ve been walking past every day. It’s like realizing the back of the bedroom door is filthy only when you finally close it and turn on the light. I don’t see it unless I’m looking for it. In recovery, I’m willing to take daily inventory, even when it’s uncomfortable. I can’t clean up what I refuse to see. Pruning spiritually, emotionally, and mentally is how I make space for new growth in my life.


    Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.


    Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

    Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

    To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org


    #RecoveryDaily #SobrietyJourney #AlcoholismRecovery #StrokeRecovery #SpiritualGrowth #LettingGo #SelfAwareness #EmotionalHealing #GraceInRecovery #GratefulRecoveringAlcoholic

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    27 min